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LICENSING

Overview

The licensing section serves the commercial fishing industry by issuing the commercial fishing permits and vessel licenses required for participation in Alaska's commercial fisheries. The small staff of four full-time employees at the Juneau office, and one at the Kodiak field office, issue 50,000+ licenses annually. That staff is supplemented by two seasonal and two temporary employees who work only during the peak months of licensing activity. One additional employee is responsible for processing permit transfer requests (for both permanent and emergency transfers), totaling approximately 1,800 per year. Beginning late in 1990, the licensing section gained one additional employee and assumed responsibility for all of the agency's telephone switchboard and mail processing functions.

Licensing activity is very seasonal. Activity is slower during the late summer and fall, picking up immediately after the mailout of license renewal forms, dropping off again mid-winter then gradually increasing throughout the spring. A perpetual problem with which the licensing section contends each year is the tendency of many fishermen to wait until the last minute to apply for necessary permits, resulting in a high-pressure time crunch for themselves and the licensing staff.

The licensing section continually strives to improve efficiency of operations. During 1991, considerable time was spent on in-house redesign of license renewal/application forms to allow all of the permits and/or vessel licenses held by an individual to be renewed on a single form (in prior years separate forms were required for each license). The 1992 renewal forms were printed and mailed by the agency without relying on outside vendors, resulting in significant savings. Initial response to the new forms has been very favorable; fishermen have just one form to sign and return instead of as many as 5 - 15, and paper handling and filing has been greatly reduced for the staff, resulting in faster issuance of licenses.

Permit transfer activity also tends to be very seasonal, peaking in June when mid-season emergency transfers predominate. During 1991, permanent transfer activity remained fairly constant compared to 1990, with 963 transfer requests received, of which 39 were denied and 924 approved. Emergency transfers increased slightly, rising from 800 in 1990 to 846 in 1991 - of which 58 were denied and 788 approved.

The licensing section takes in revenues from annual permit and vessel license fees, one-time limited entry permit application fees, fines and arrearages assessed pursuant to residency investigations or revocation actions, and user fees which are charged for the privilege of obtaining licenses at Commission field offices rather than by mail from the Juneau office. Pursuant to AS.23.35.060, $18 for each fisherman who is a resident of Alaska, and $54 for each nonresident, is transferred from the Commission's licensing revenues to the Fishermen's Fund insurance program which is administered by the Department of Labor. Following this summary are tables indicating revenues received during both fiscal and calendar year 1991 and the number of 1991 permits and vessel licenses issued.

During 1991, the Commission maintained the full-time Kodiak field office and the seasonal offices in Bristol Bay which provide licensing service and assistance with other limited entry matters. (A summary of field office activities follows the table, Licenses Issued for 1991.)


1991 Licensing Revenue


REVENUE SOURCE *                     FISCAL YEAR 91          CALENDAR YEAR 91

Permit Fees                              $5,347,940                $5,885,370
Vessel License Fees                         384,318                   388,244
Limited Entry
   Application Fees                           7,690                    20,880
Field Office User Fees                       40,300                    39,400
Fines/Arrearages                             62,433                    79,043
NSF Check Penalties                           1,050                     1,275
Misc. Revenue                                70,175                    49,250
GROSS REVENUE                            $5,913,906                $6,463,462

(less refunds)                             - 82,076                  - 79,884

NET REVENUE                              $5,831,830                $6,383,578

(less Fishermen's Fund                    - 467,712                $  472,500
transfer)
                                         $5,364,118                $5,911,078



* This report indicates total revenue received from each source regardless of the license year;, it includes fees for permits and vessel licenses for 1990, 1991 and 1992, received during the fiscal year or calendar year, respectively.


Licenses Issued For 1991

Limited Entry Permits Not Renewed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Limited Entry Permits Revoked or Lapsed (since 1975) . . . . .     473
Limited Entry Permits Renewed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12,657
Interim Permits in Limited Fisheries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,247
Interim Permits in Open-to-Entry Fisheries . . . . . . . . . . .18,598
Special Harvest Area (Hatchery) Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Educational Entry Permits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .       5


     PERMITS PAID FOR 1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32,524

     VESSELS LICENSED FOR 1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17,580


TOTAL PERMITS AND VESSEL LICENSES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50,104


Resident Permit Holders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13,791

Nonresident Permit Holders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4,153


     TOTAL PERMIT HOLDERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17,944


Revenue Transferred to the Fishermen's Fund was $472,500 (for 1991 permits only)


Licensing Field Office Activities


Field Office             Permits              Vessels             User Fees
Locations                Issued*             Licensed             Collected


Kodiak                     2,515                  821               $31,350

Dillingham                   274                   89                 3,180

King Salmon                  326                  132                 3,690



TOTAL FIELD OFFICE USER FEES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $38,220


* Permits Issued includes original cards and duplicates.

The Kodiak office is open throughout the entire calendar year, while the field offices in Dillingham and King Salmon are operated on a seasonal basis only. During 1991, CFEC staff provided licensing service in Dillingham for a few days immediately prior to the Togiak herring fishery and for five weeks during the salmon season. The King Salmon office was staffed for approximately five weeks during the Bristol Bay salmon season.

The user fee is a surcharge of $10.00 for each permit or vessel license obtained at a field office. User fees were implemented in 1988 to cover the costs of field office services which would otherwise have been eliminated due to budget reductions.

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